Register to get 1 free article
Reveal the article below by registering for our email newsletter.
Want unlimited access? View Plans
Already have an account? Sign in
The Issa brothers are a step closer to completing their £6.8bn Asda buyout, having offered to address concerns put forward by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
In order to finalise the debt-fueled takeover, Zuber and Moshin Issa have agreed to sell 27 of their 395 EG Group petrol filling stations.
The competition concerns were raised on a local basis, with Asda and TDR Capital, the buyers’ private equity vehicle, overlapping in terms of operations in 37 areas across the UK.
The CMA launched the inquiry to understand whether the takeover would create a “substantial lessening of competition”.
However, following the “local competition concerns” the CMA now said that it has “reasonable grounds to believe the proposed remedies might be accepted”.
It added: “The CMA considers that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the undertakings offered jointly by Mr Zuber Issa, Mr Mohsin Issa and TDR Capital LLP, or a modified version of them, might be accepted by the CMA under the Enterprise Act 2002.”
According to the Guardian, EG Group is buying Asda’s petrol stations for £750m, with the expected proceeds from the group’s 27 petrol station sales used to pay off loans taken to finance the takeover.
